Odd strip of new pavement on Wheaton Way

The in basket: I was intrigued by an odd paving project done on
Wheaton Way north of Sheridan Road the week of June 14. It was a
continuous narrow strip of new asphalt after the old was dug out,
running north from in front of Albertson’s in the northbound outer
lane.

The state’s project information list said it would run all the
way to the city limits at Riddell Road and all the way back to
Sheridan. I wondered what on earth required it. It looked like
perhaps some past utility trench wasn’t repaired correctly.

The out basket: The project list description was misleading, as
the dig-outs and pavement replacement took on the more familiar
intermittent pattern after it got north of Sylvan Way. Only a few
places were patched in the southbound direction, once again near
the curb.

Duke Stryker, head of maintenance operations for state highways
in Kitsap and Mason counties, said the street, which to the state
is Highway 303, was identified as a trouble spot in their annual
spring review in which a state materials engineer drives state
highways with local maintenance crews to plan the year’s pavement
repair.

Duke said the outer wheel rut carved by millions of cars over
the years, worsened by water accumulating against the curb, caused
the deterioration. The three wheel ruts farther from the curb
didn’t have the excess water to worsen the wear. The outer rut
pavement was badly “alligatored” and needed replacement, he said.
.

It took them a week. This week (June 21) the crews are doing
similar work on Highway 3 in Gorst. Tuesday and Wednesday, they’ll
be closing the Purdy Bridge at the east end of Highway 302 to
repave it. The Gorst and Purdy work will be done at night. Purdy
traffic will be detoured via Pine Road and other local streets
during the closures.